UP FRONT: WORTH NOTING

UP FRONT: WORTH NOTING; The Big Screen Comes to Haddonfield

By Robert Strauss

Published: September 14, 2003

On Monday, this Victorian-style hamlet in Camden County will become the Hollywood of New Jersey as Governor McGreevey signs the New Jersey Film Production Assistance Program there.

After the 1 p.m. signing ceremony at Haddonfield Memorial High School, the actor Paul Sorvino and his production company will begin auditioning teenagers for a film he intends to shoot, at least partly in Haddonfield, entitled ''Trouble with Callie.'' Other stars expected to attend the ceremony are William Baldwin, Michelle Lee and Chazz Palminteri.

The film may be the first to take advantage of the new program, which is designed to give loan guarantees of up to $1.5 million to film projects that do at least 70 percent of their production and spend 50 percent of their expenses in New Jersey.

Micah Rasmussen, the governor's spokesman, noted that the governor has promised to bring 200,000 new jobs to New Jersey, and that film and television production can become a big part of that. ''Outside of California, the New York/New Jersey area has historically been a center for film production,'' Mr. Rasmussen said. ''The more we can attract to New Jersey, the better it will be for the economy here.'' Robert Strauss

Photo: Paul Sorvino will be putting Haddonfield in the spotlight. (Photo by Getty Images)